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Category Archives: Problem Solving

Room 30 has been exercising our minds by engaging in some engineering projects. The first challenge was to create a sturdy paper tower that could survive Hurricane Vazquez (teacher huffs and puffs and tries to blow it down). Students were given 4 pieces of newspaper and 12 inches of masking tape. They were to go through “The Engineering Process” and construct a sturdy tower. It was quite a learning experience for most of us. There was a lot of reflecting and improving! As Michael Jordan says,“I can accept failure, I just can’t

accept not trying.”

Ask: Define the problem

Imagine: Brainstorm possible solutions

Plan: Draw a diagram

Create: Follow your plan and test it!

Improve: Modify your design and make it better!

Has your class tried something like this? Do you have any ideas or challenges for us? We’d love to try something new! Please comment below.

We worked on this challenging problem for 3 weeks. We analyzed number patterns like never before. Together, we found many patterns, and had many “Ah ha!” moments! If you would like to experience this challenging, but yet engaging problem, watch our video and join the learning community!

Questions to consider:

Which lockers would be open if there were 100 lockers? How do you know?

WHY do these lockers remain open?

If you’d like to explore this problem further, download the following link to more questions.